Area of expertise: School Law - Sara Boucek functions as chief legal counsel to the IASA Board of Directors and the Executive Director; provides advice to association members in the area of members’ employment contracts and other areas involving members’ employment; works with the committees and matters involving legislation; attends Region meetings and speaks to the members about the Association’s programs and act

Area of expertise: School Law - Heather Brickman concentrates her practice in all phases of school law, including transactions and finance, governance, and personnel issues. She is a frequent lecturer on behalf of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, the Illinois Association of School Boards and other school associations on a broad range of topics, including current legislative issues, employee be

Area of expertise: School Law - epresents school districts and other public and private sector clients in all areas of law, with a concentration in labor, personnel and employment discrimination matters. Ms. DeCola has extensive experience in collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, contract administration, leave administration, employee discipline matters and employment litigation. Prior to joining the firm

Area of expertise: School Law - extensive experience representing management in the negotiation of public sector and private sector collective bargaining agreements, the arbitration of labor disputes and litigation of labor relations and employment discrimination matters. His practice further concentrates upon the representation of Boards of Education in general school issues and construction matters. past Chairma

Area of expertise: School Law - Kristen Kennedy currently serves as the Deputy General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the Illinois State Board of Education. In this capacity, Kristen serves as the agency’s contracts attorney and drafts and negotiates all of the agency’s contracts and intergovernmental agreements; advises on procurement and grant related issues; and manages and supports the agency’s

Area of expertise: School Law - Representing countless school districts across Illinois and the Midwest, Darcy’s passion for serving clients with the utmost respect and with their priorities on top, promotes her to a leader in the industry. Her creative and collaborative resolutions, diverse experience, and personable connection with clients is exceptional and highly regarded. Darcy is an active member of the Illi

Area of expertise: School Law - Sania Merchant is an Assistant General Counsel at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). She concentrates her practice on grant compliance, student issues, including matters pertaining to early childhood education and English learners, and health and safety regulatory issues. Ms. Merchant counsels and supports districts under direct state oversight on a variety of policy and c

Area of expertise: School Law - taff Attorney for the Education Equity Project where she advocates for the educational rights of young people through a lens of racial and social justice. She was instrumental in Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ re-launch of the Education Equity Project. Candace’s work has focused on organizing legal advocacy resources to address disparate discipline and barriers to enrol

Area of expertise: School Law - Mary Reynolds is the Executive Director of Innovation & Secondary Transformation for the Illinois State Board of Education. In this role, she serves to help cultivate innovative programs and generate strategies that improve outcomes for students in Illinois. She is coordinating the development and implementation of the new Competency-Based High School Graduation Pilot Program for I

Area of expertise: School Law - PhD, NCSP, licensed clinical psychologist and educational consultant, has experience working in a variety of school settings including juvenile corrections, alternative schools, and psychiatric facilities. As a consultant with the Illinois Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS) Network, Dr. Rose coached school teams on approaches for providing safe, inclusive school environments. Dr. Rose

Area of expertise: School Law - practiced school law for 24 years. He is the author of three books: “Illinois Law in the School Office, 2nd Ed.,” “The Law of Homeschooling” and “Finding Middle Ground in K-12 Education.” Brian is the past chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Education Law Section Council and has served on the national Board of Directors of the Education Law Association. He also serves as

Area of expertise: School Law - General Counsel of the Illinois Association of School Boards. She provides legal services and representation to the Association and its Executive Director, produces legally compliant policy material and course curricula for school boards, and furnishes legal information to members. She is the editor of IASB’s Policy Reference Subscription Service (PRESS). Kimberly manages the I

Area of expertise: School Law - represents school districts and public bodies in litigation and administrative hearings. Mr. Swain practices before state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout the state, and represents school districts and public bodies in matters such as personnel disputes, construction litigation, property tax appeals, and special education due process hearings. He is a frequ

Area of expertise: School Law - focuses on Board of Fire and Police Commissioner Hearings, traffic and local ordinance prosecution, general school and municipal law, and litigation.